Francesco Del Re Italian Terracotta Lobed Bowl Planter, Ciotola Baccellata, 22 Inch, Weathered Patina

A handsome Italian terracotta low bowl planter by Francesco Del Re — the celebrated Tuscan ceramic artisan whose hand-thrown and hand-finished terracotta vessels have made him one of the most recognized contemporary Italian ceramic makers exporting to the international market — in his classic "Ciotola Baccellata" form. The lobed, gently scalloped bowl design ("baccellata" meaning podded or lobed in Italian) is one of Del Re's signature forms, instantly recognizable to collectors and serious garden designers.

About Francesco Del Re. Working from his Tuscan studio, Francesco Del Re produces handmade terracotta planters, jardinières, and garden vessels using his proprietary Terraforte clay — a mineral-rich Tuscan clay he developed and trademarked, notoriously difficult to throw because of its mineral density but producing exceptionally tough, weather-resistant pots that hold up to outdoor exposure across decades. His work is the modern continuation of the great Tuscan terracotta tradition (Impruneta and surrounding villages outside Florence), exported worldwide and carried in the United States by the Eye of the Day Garden Design Center in Carpinteria, California — the principal US importer of high-end Italian terracotta to landscape architects and designers. His pieces are specified into estate gardens, hotel installations, and serious residential landscapes throughout the country.

The piece. A 22-inch diameter Ciotola Baccellata bowl in mature weathered condition — chalky mineral bloom, lichen-soft surface encrustation, oxidation staining, and the warm terracotta ground reading through where the surface has worn back from years of weathering. This is the kind of patina that develops only through real exposure across many seasons; reproductions cannot fake it. The piece reads as a serious garden antique rather than a recent factory piece, and is therefore well past the point of being mistaken for new-production Del Re — it has the depth that decades outdoors confer.

Use. The 22-inch diameter is the ideal scale for a feature planting on a terrace, a single specimen citrus or olive in a courtyard, a flanking pair at a doorway (occasionally pairs surface from the same source), or a sculptural object set into a gravel garden. The low 9.5-inch height makes the form feel grounded and architectural rather than vase-like. Pairs naturally with weathered limestone, sun-bleached ipe, lead urns, gravel, clipped boxwood, and the loose informality of a Mediterranean or Italianate garden. Equally compelling in a contemporary minimalist landscape where a single weathered terracotta object becomes the focal point.

Drainage hole present — confirm condition of base before listing weight-bearing capacity for very large specimen plantings.

Dimensions: 22" Diameter × 9.5" H

This item ships via private carrier. Properly crated and fully insured for transit. Please allow several weeks for delivery. Expedited shipping available for an additional fee.

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